Julien Stephan must abandon one thing at QPR – He may not like it though | OneFootball

Julien Stephan must abandon his principles to switch the system at Queens Park Rangers after a tough start to the season.

The appointment of Julien Stephan after the prolonged departure of Marti Cifuentes was a gamble by Queens Park Rangers and things haven’t gone overly smoothly for the former Stade Rennais manager at Loftus Road.

Stephan, with his reputation for being an excellent developer and nurturer of young talent, is also known for being wedded to either the 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-2 system that has been deployed, admittedly flexibly, so far this season for the R’s.

In order to achieve the consistency that QPR supporters will be after to try and propel themselves towards the top six and the play-off places in the Championship, it does appear time for Stephan to step in and use a different shape now.

A goalless draw with badly struggling Sheffield United at Bramall Lane before the November international break followed three successive defeats to leave QPR sitting firmly in the bottom-half of the Championship table.

Stephan’s ability to harness talent, especially from young players, means he probably remains a good call to steer the ship in west London, with their abundance of quality youthful talent, particularly in the final third.

However, it does appear that the time is right to switch the system to a back three, with a lot of the squad and player profiles seemingly suited to that way of playing.

Julien Stephan should shift from his principles at QPR

As an ideologue, Julien Stephan does seem at the behest of his tactical principles, which have throughout his career led him to play with a back four that can either be a 4-2-2-2 or a 4-2-3-1 further up the pitch.

The compromise at QPR is that it has been a 4-2-3-1 on the face of it, but with more of an out and out striker, such as Rumarn Burrell, playing as the so-called ‘number ten’ in the middle of that three.

From a defensive point of view, though, QPR have remained quite lax, despite an improvement since their 7-1 shellacking at the hands of league leaders Coventry City back in August.

Some personnel have shifted but a recent 4-1 loss at home to Ipswich Town did again expose some glaring issues, with a lack of speed within the defence exploited alongside the defenders being asked to consistently play out from the back.

Perhaps their best ball-playing defender is former Bayern Munich man Liam Morrison, who did appear to be thriving at one stage under Stephan this season, but now finds himself down the pecking order.

Morrison playing in a back three, however, would allow his on-the-ball skills to be best showcased alongside Steve Cook and Jimmy Dunne; the former of which would have a lack of pace covered for in the heart of a back three and the latter seemingly the absolute ideal right-sided centre-back in that shape, given he came through at Burnley as a centre-back and has gone on to become a right-back.

The likes of attacking full-back Esquerdinha and former midfielder Sam Field would then be ideal profiles for the left wing-back role, whilst the right wing-back spot could be used to play a more forward-thinking yet industrious option, such as versatile Northern Ireland international Paul Smyth, or even Koki Saito or Kieran Morgan, who is a midfielder that has occasionally been deployed at right-back by the Frenchman.

???????Richard Kone and Rumarn Burrell could continue to thrive for QPR

Kone image credit - Benji Walker (@benjiwalkerphoto)

Attempting to sort out the defence, which has conceded 23 goals with only rock-bottom crisis club Sheffield Wednesday having let in more, is one thing, but it could also provide a bit more structure to an attack with immense potential.

If it was to be a 3-4-1-2 structure, for example, then the likes of Harvey Vale, Nicolas Madsen, Karamoko Dembele and Ilias Chair would be left vying for that creative role in behind the strikers, or even occasionally deployed in a pairing up-front.

It has been shown by many teams in the past that cramming in as many players as possible with a similar profile, despite their quality, often doesn’t work due to a lack of cohesion and space provided.

This sort of switch would also give the two better performers from this season, summer investments Richard Kone and Burrell, who joined from Wycombe Wanderers and Burton Albion, the platform to both remain up-front and thriving in the side – especially as both played extremely well in striking partnerships in League One.

Stephan appears the ideal coach in terms of his development of young talent for this squad, but is tactical principles do appear to go against what the squad looks like on paper and a switch could be productive for the R’s, even if the manager has to compromise on his overall ideology.